The dark side of milk

Grown ups don't need cow milk.

High milk consumption may even be harmful, according to a Swedish study recently published in the British Medical Journal. The study compared people drinking less than one glass of milk everyday to those drinking three or more glasses. 

The people drinking more milk had more bone fractures, and especially women had a higher risk of dying because of heart disease and cancer.

If you love milk and think your quality of life would suffer from giving it up, then do not worry. What's the point of perhaps adding a few years to a miserable life (and this is just a statistical chance -with a big maybe...if you are Swedish female -and Swedish women have an excellent life-expectancy anyway). 

But if you drink milk only because you think it's good for you, you might as well stop. Or swap the milk to sour milk, yogurt or cheese. The added value of sour milk and yogurt is that they contain probiotics, that are good gut bacteria. It is possible that among many other health benefits, they also improve brain function (more about that in a later post).

It is speculated that the d-galactose (a sugar compound found in milk) is the source of the problem. D-galactose is known to increase oxidative stress. Theoretically, and there are some small studies supporting the theory, this could be counter-balanced with anti-oxidants. Eating plenty of vegetables, fruit and berries is good advice for anyone and those who wish to continue drinking milk may because of these study results decide to take to some heavier stuff, such as spirulina, wheatgrass or turmeric.

The dairy industry isn't very gentle with the cows, either, so it is an ethical move to reduce the overall milk consumption. 

Milk is undoubtedly a good protein source but people in developed countries certainly do not suffer from protein deficiency. On top of that, many people are lactose- (the other sugar compound in milk) intolerant. Lactose intolerance causes bloating, diarrhea and stomach pain.

The main reason (and main marketing pitch of the dairy industry) is calcium and its effect on bone density. Milk is promoted as a good calcium source -but it isn't the only one.

Plant based calcium sources are dark-green leaf vegetables (and the additional health benefits of those dark greens are probably only just unfolding, although the list is long already), such as broccoli, kale and spinach. Also beans, figs and raisins are high in calcium.

...and good news for the Swiss: Cheese has much less d-galactose than milk!